This is Guelph University linking C.Diff to pigs, something long known, although any mention of pigs, even when pigs were known to be present and infected at the site of human outbreaks, has always been suppressed or played down in the UK.
The presentation draws comparisons between C. Diff (CDI) and MRSA st398 and the human impact with death rates for Ontario hospitals.
Although some of the points made may not be applicable in Britain, this adds fuel to a continuing scandal that is going to hit the UK hard and bring its corrupt vetocracy before the Courts.
We do not have an exact date for the presentation although it appeared on our horizon yesterday. It is certainly this year and probably published very recently.
Anyway, we give the url and some quotes. The whole is well worth reading, as extracts from slide presentations with artwork are hard to faithfully reproduce here.
http://www.uoguelph.ca/foodsafetynetwork/sites/uoguelph.ca.foodsafetynetwork/files/OFSRF2012P06Warriner.pdf
"Prevalence of Clostridium difficile & Methicillin Resistance
Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Infecting Bacteriophages in
Pork Processing"
Multi-Drug Resistance
Increasing problem with treating infections
Increase susceptibility to secondary infections
Traditional Hospital Acquired Infections
Clostridium difficile
MRSA
Community Associated Infections increasing
MRSA Associated with Pigs
Prevalence: 25 – 40% (ST398)
Proven zoonotic link: Pig farmers 760 times more likely
to contract MRSA
1 – 11% carriage on pork at retail
Incidence of CDI appears to be increasing in the US
Conclusions
MRSA and C difficile prevalent in pig during production
phase. Low carriage at market weight.
C difficile present in holding area of processing lines
Little evidence of cross-contamination during
processing
Dissemination in the environment via manure
Animal production only one source of C difficile
High exposure of population to toxigenic C difficile
